Church hosts blood drive amidst dire blood shortage

On Monday, January 11, at 1600 Main Street, the Crossroads United Methodist Church held the first of their six yearly blood drives, in collaboration with The Red Cross.

Vivian Bethune, the church side director of the blood drive explained, “Our church wanted to do mission and help people throughout the community and everything. We just felt like it was a real good project and a humanitarian thing to do.” Crossroads United Methodist does these blood drives in conjunction with The Red Cross in January, March, May, July, September and November of every year, on the second Monday of those months.

“Right now everything [blood-related] is short because they’re using all the plasma in COVID patients, especially if we pull the blood. They test the unit, if they have antibodies, they pull the plasma and send it to hospitals, and they’re using it at such a high level that we can’t keep up.” These were the dire remarks of a representative for The Red Cross who asked that his name be withheld. “This is usually a really big drive for us. We normally can walk out of here with 60 units, but [Bethune] has had almost 10 or 12 no-shows because they are sick, or they’re self-quarantined because of COVID. We’ve had so many blood drives canceled. Churches are closing down again, and they’re not letting us come in. We had three blood drives canceled last week because the church office staff got canceled. We had two to cancel this week because of COVID, and we see what happened in March and May when in the beginning, everywhere shut down. Right now, as The Red Cross, we’re trying to find places that will let us come in and use an area that they’re not using.”

The nation is in the middle of what the American Red Cross calls a “critical blood shortage.” This shortage began in July, and although blood donations have not ceased, the rate at which blood is being distributed and used is far greater than the rate at which it is being donated. According to The Red Cross’ website, it has less than a five-day blood supply on hand. In fact, a representative for the Red Cross explained Monday that the donations received at the Crossroads United Methodist blood drive was only a fraction of what it usually is.

“This unit right here,” the rep said, pointing to a bag of purely red blood cells, “it’ll be gone tomorrow. The blood that we’ve collected today will be gone in 72 hours; that’s why there’s a shortage.” For reference, according to their website, The Red Cross usually keeps at least a five-day blood supply in order to be able to supply hospitals in case of medical emergencies and the like.

“It’s a life-saving unit,” said the representative, holding a bag aloft. “This one unit right here, the plasma in it alone could be used on three different patients. Those power reds right there, that red cell,” the spokesperson explained, pointing to a bag of blood, “that big bag on top is nothing but red cells. This is used for cancer patients who are on chemo and can’t produce their own anymore, and it can be used for three different people. And it’s also used for newborn babies.”

When asked about other ways people could help in the blood donating process, the Red Cross representative said, “Educate themselves on the Red Cross website, how to donate, where to donate. They can download the app.”

This app is called The Blood App. In addition to assisting donors find locations to donate, it will also inform donors of their blood type, where their blood went, whom it helped and even whether or not their blood carried COVID-19 antibodies. “Donate that life-saving material, it’s the best way to give back.”

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